This invention relates to an data storage media and, more particularly, to an improved write/protect tab assembly for a floppy disc jacket and a method for assembling same.
As is known, information can be recorded on and/or reproduced from a data storage medium in the form of a "floppy disc" by bringing a magnetic head into contact with the disc while rotating the disc at a high speed and, at the same time, moving the magnetic head in the radial direction of the disc.
Such a floppy disc is usually enclosed in a "jacket" to prevent damage to the disc during handling. A floppy disc jacket includes, among other things, a write/protect tab assembly which is intended to prevent inadvertent erasure of the information recorded on the disc.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,630, issued to SAITO, discloses a write/protect tab assembly, wherein an assembled floppy disc jacket has a write/protect tab slidably mounted in a write/protect tab pocket. In the write/protect tab assembly of the '630 patent, as in other prior art write/protect tab assemblies, the write/protect tab does not become "encaptured" in the floppy disc jacket until the base and cover of the jacket are ultrasonically welded together during final assembly. Encaptured is defined as being held in place so that the write/protect tab will not fall out of the floppy disc jacket when handled. Accordingly, there are several instances before final assembly of the conventional jacket when, unfortunately, the write/protect tab merely falls out of the jacket base and disrupts production.
Most particularly, prior to ultrasonically welding the jacket cover to the base, but after inserting the floppy disc and temporarily positioning the cover, the disc is quality tested. If the disc is not up to particular quality standards, the cover must be removed from the base and the disc is discarded. Often, at this stage of production, the tab falls out during handling. When a new disc is placed in the jacket, the write/protect tab must be reinserted in the tab pocket before the cover can be replaced on the base and the testing repeated. Of course, this type of assembly is time and cost inefficient.
Another important drawback of the conventional assembly is related to floppy disc manufacturer buying requirements. These manufacturers prefer to load their own floppy disc into the jacket, test the quality of the disc, and then ultrasonically weld the jacket cover to the base. They prefer to take no part in the preassembly process, including insertion of the write/protect tab into the tab pocket. Of course, the conventional assembly forces such a manufacturer to insert the write/protect tab, since it falls out if the jacket is shipped with the write/protect tab originally in place.
In light of the above, the prior art still does not provide a write/protect tab assembly for a floppy disc jacket and a method for assembling same which are capable of the most cost- and time-efficient automated assembly.